Some neatly stacked felled logs at a site in Bukit Telaga, near Fraser’s Hill. Peka is calling for a complete halt on logging around Fraser’s Hill and for the area to be designated as a heritage site.

KUANTAN: Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob said he could not halt logging activities near Fraser’s Hill without first consulting relevant departments.

He said although general approval and policies were done by the state executive council, the details had to be worked out by the respective departments.

“For example, we might approve certain concessions at a certain location but the detailed plan is up to the departments,” he said when asked to comment on the logging activities being carried out in Bukit Telaga, near Fraser’s Hill.

Association for the Protection of Natural Heritage of Malaysia (Peka) president Puan Sri Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil said recently that Fraser’s Hill was a sensitive area as the soil eroded easily and any deforestation there would have an immediate environmental impact, especially on its role as a water catchment area.

She called on the government to permanently end all logging and deforestation activities around Fraser’s Hill and to gazette it and the surrounding forests as a heritage site.

“She (Shariffa Sabrina) can say anything she wants but when we asked her to come to a seminar, she did not turn up,” he said.

On the safety aspect of tahfiz schools in Pahang, Adnan said those being managed by the state government had proper safety measures in place, as well as facilities and professional teachers.

“Parents have to consider the children’s safety before enrolling them in these schools,” said Adnan.